Saint Ephraim the Syrian in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Venerable Ephraim was from the East, Syrian by origin. He learned piety and faith in Christ from his forefathers and lived in the time of Theodosius the Great. From his childhood he embraced the monastic life, and it is said that grace was poured out upon him by God. Through this grace, having written a great many compunctionate works, he guided many toward virtue and became an example of ascetic excellence for later generations. 

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian is among the most well-known Venerables and Fathers of our Church, in the sense that he is known even by those who do not know him. What do we mean by this? One may not be aware that the quintessential prayer of Great Lent — "Lord and Master of my life” — is his prayer, yet one has certainly heard it, has perhaps whispered it himself, and may even have incorporated it into his own prayers. And this means that he has been challenged — and is challenged each time by this prayer — to live repentance as a struggle against evil passions: idleness, curiosity, love of power, idle talk, and to acquire the virtues of chastity, humility, patience, and love, through which one lives in the presence of God.

January: Day 28: Teaching 2: Venerable James the Faster

January: Day 28: Teaching 2:*
Venerable James the Faster
 
(The Benefit of Bodily Fasting)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

Venerable James, an ascetic of the sixth century, lived for fifteen years in a single cave in Phoenicia. For his God-pleasing life he received from God the gift of working miracles, so that not only believers but also pagans came to him seeking healing from illnesses, and through this many pagans of that region were converted to Christianity. 

One of the Venerable one’s miracles is especially noteworthy. Once a severe drought came upon all Phoenicia, and famine began to threaten the inhabitants. Together with their bishop, the people fervently prayed to God to grant rain. Then, in a vision, the bishop was commanded to go to the cave where Venerable James was struggling in ascetic labor and to ask him to pray for rain. The bishop, gathering the clergy and accompanied by the people, went with supplicatory chanting to James, asking his intercession before God. At first James, considering himself unworthy of God’s mercy, refused them; but after persistent entreaties he began to pray, and during the prayer rain fell.

Materials for a Sermon on the Feast Day of Venerable Theodosius of Totma (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

Materials for a Sermon on the Feast Day of Venerable Theodosius of Totma*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

“Rejoice, for as a faithful servant you walked piously before the Lord all the days of your life.” (From the Akathist to Venerable Theodosius of Totma)**

At the glorification of a saint, they are invisibly present with us and instruct us. The Venerable one (Theodosius) seems, as it were, to say to all of us:

“You, dear ones, have gathered to honor my memory, and I have come to you. See, I was the same kind of man as you, yet throughout my earthly life I strove to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things were added to me. I also command all of you: seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Prologue in Sermons: January 28

 

Our Erroneous Opinions About High-Ranking People

January 28

(The Tale of Saints Ephraim the Syrian and Basil the Great)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

We often have completely false notions about people of high rank, crowned with glory and honor. We say: “How could they inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, when they live in honor and luxury, have rich tables, wear almost royal garments, and keep a great number of servants, and so on?” Such an opinion of ours about people of high position is often very mistaken, as can be demonstrated by facts themselves.

Once Saint Ephraim the Syrian, who lived in the desert, began to ask God to reveal to him how far Saint Basil the Great had advanced in spiritual labors. His prayer was heard, and he beheld a pillar of fire stretching from earth to heaven. And a voice was heard saying: “Ephraim, Ephraim! As great as the pillar of fire you saw, so great is Basil.”

Then Ephraim, taking with him an interpreter who knew the Greek language, went with him to Caesarea, where Basil the Great was archbishop. They arrived in Caesarea on the very feast of the Theophany of the Lord, and Ephraim immediately went to the church where Basil was serving. When he saw Basil in great glory and honor, surrounded by a multitude of clergy, Ephraim exclaimed to his companion: “In vain have we labored, brother! Is this how I expected to see him? Can he be great before the Lord when he stands in such rank and honors? Truly, we have borne the burden of the day and the heat in vain! And I marvel again how such a man can be likened to a pillar of fire.”

Meanwhile, Basil the Great sent the archdeacon to summon Ephraim into the sanctuary. When the archdeacon conveyed the invitation of the hierarch, Ephraim said: “The hierarch must be mistaken; we are strangers, and he does not know us,” and he remained in his place.

Then the sermon began. And what happened? Throughout it, to his own terror, Saint Ephraim saw, as it were, a tongue of fire proceeding from the mouth of Saint Basil. After the sermon, the archbishop said to the archdeacon: “Go and say to the visitor to whom I sent you: ‘Master Ephraim, enter the holy sanctuary.’” The archdeacon delivered the message. Then Ephraim cried out: “Truly, Basil is great! The Holy Spirit Himself speaks through his mouth!”

When, after the Divine Liturgy, he met the archbishop, the latter said to him: “I rejoice to see you, who have multiplied the disciples of Christ in the desert and cast out demons in the name of Christ. But why have you come to see me? For I am a sinful man.” Ephraim was astonished. Then, having partaken of the Holy Mysteries from the hands of Saint Basil, he turned to him with a request that he might obtain for him understanding of the Greek language. By his prayer the archbishop obtained this for him, and afterward ordained him first as a deacon and then as a presbyter.

See then: what did Saint Ephraim say of Saint Basil when he first saw him? He said to his companion: “In vain have we labored in coming here to see him. Can he be great before the Lord when he stands in such rank and honors?” Yet was Ephraim right? No. For first, he saw as it were a tongue of fire issuing from the mouth of Saint Basil; second, Saint Basil showed himself to be clairvoyant before him; and third, he worked a miracle upon him by obtaining for him understanding of a language foreign to him.

Therefore, brethren, “judge nothing before the time” (1 Corinthians 4:5), and do not forget that not only the poor are saved, but also those clothed in purple, those honored with the great dignity of the episcopal office, the rich, nobles, and other people of high rank. Thus David lived amid royal splendor and received the crown. Abraham had a wife and children, three hundred and eighteen servants, much gold and silver; yet this did not prevent him from acquiring the name “friend of God.” Yes, we repeat: judge nothing before the time. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Saint James the Ascetic Resource Page

Venerable James the Ascetic (Feast Day - Gr. January 28, Slav. March 4)

Verses

 

As from a snare James left the flesh behind,

For by the flesh's snares he was not caught. 

 

St. James the Ascetic, Who Murdered Yet Did Not Despair 

 

Saint James the Ascetic, also known as the Faster

 

Saint James the Ascetic, Who Was a Rapist and Murderer

 

Venerable James the Ascetic

 

January: Day 28: Teaching 2: Venerable James the Faster 

 

Prologue in Sermons: October 10

 

Metropolitan of Derkoi Says Russia’s Attack on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is “Unbrotherly, Irreverent, and Indecent”

Metropolitan Geron Apostolos of Derkoi characterizes Russia’s attack on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as “unbrotherly, irreverent, and indecent.”

Commenting on the abusive accusations directed against the Patriarch, the Metropolitan of Derkoi notes at the outset: “This is not the first time that Moscow, acting through the deep state and the secret service SVR, has attacked — unbrotherly, irreverently, and indecently — the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. This time, the SVR, instigated by the official state and tightly embraced by it, the Russian Church, unleashed a remotely guided bomb. Not like the one with which they struck an apartment building and a playground in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killing six people and wounding at least fifty-five. Among the dead was a fourteen-year-old girl. Nor like the bomb with which they struck a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, and, among others, fatally wounded an unfortunate pregnant woman along with the child she was carrying.” He adds: “This time, the SVR, remotely guided by Russia’s deep state, deployed a bomb of another technology — ancient and time-tested. Its components are a political–religious mixture of irrational and arrogant claims, all manner of blackmail, and fratricidal slanders.”

Translation of the Sacred Relic of Saint John Chrysostom in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

One cannot fail to emphasize, when speaking of the Great Father and Ecumenical Teacher, Saint John Chrysostom, his preaching on repentance, which constitutes one of his most beloved themes – we recall that he wrote nine major homilies on this subject, without even mentioning others in which he also addresses it – so that he is called, among other things, the “preacher of repentance.” The Holy Hymnographers of his Service, Theophanes and Joseph, repeatedly refer to it, as does the liturgical office of the Saint on November 13, the day of his glorious memory, during which we again spoke of the repentance he preached, of his similarity to the Prophets of the Old Testament, and of his connection with Saint John the Forerunner, the first preacher of repentance on the soil of the New Testament. For this reason, we are obliged to consider it even briefly, given that, as we said, the hymnographers Theophanes and Joseph often refer to it. Indeed, the verse of the kontakion reminds us of repentance in a twofold way, since the poet both asks the Saint to guide him on the path of repentance, because he, deficient in virtue, dared to stand before the Saint’s relics, and also because the Saint is eminently qualified to become his guide in this, since this was primarily what he preached.

Prologue in Sermons: January 27

What Should We Do When our Enemies Arm Themselves Against Us?

January 27

(The Translation of the Relics of our Father among the Saints, John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, and his Epistle to Bishop Kyriakos.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

When our enemies do evil to us, persecute and pursue us, then instead of acting according to the commandment of God — "love your enemies" (Luke 6:36) — and arming ourselves with patience, we begin to grieve and lose heart, to grow angry against our adversaries and revile them, and in doing so our heart is often torn apart. Such behavior, brethren, ought not to be, for one does not put out fire with oil. But what, you will say, remains for us to do? Are we to praise our enemies after all the evils they have done to us? Are we to rejoice in the sufferings they have caused us? Are we to find peace? What shall we answer you? Leaving aside for the moment your first two questions, to the third we will give the following reply.

Venerable Xenophon and His Family in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The Venerable Xenophon lived in Constantinople, possessing great material wealth, but also great piety according to God. He therefore sent his two sons to the city of Beirut, one of the cities of Phoenicia, to study and learn law. But because the ship that was carrying them was wrecked, he himself went out together with his wife in search of them. Indeed, he found his children in Jerusalem, but he found them clothed in the monastic habit; and so he himself, together with his wife, was moved to follow the monastic life as well. And Xenophon, his wife, and their children progressed so greatly in virtue that they were deemed worthy even to work miracles. They pleased God until the end of their lives and departed to Him.

Just yesterday, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Great Father of the Church, Saint Gregory the Theologian, we referred to his phrase, which constitutes a principle of Christian life: “praxis is the ascent to theoria” — that is, praxis, the ascetical practice of the commandments of Christ, leads to theoria as the vision of God and participation in Him. This is precisely what we see being applied, we might say in an absolute way, in today’s Saints: the Venerable Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their children Arcadius and John. They struggled to keep the commandments of the Lord, and thus they gained the Kingdom of God — a truth that our Church emphasizes many times today through the pen of the Holy Hymnographer Theophanes.